System and method for providing in-game timed offers

ABSTRACT

A system and method are disclosed for providing an in-game offer to one or more players of an online game. The offer is provided to players that have newly joined the game and/or to players that have not yet made a purchase. In some implementations, the offer may be meant to incentivize purchase upon entry into the game. The in-game offer may comprise an offer to one or more items and a bonus comprising one or more bonus items provided to the player responsive to the offered items being purchased. The in-game offer may only be made available to a qualifying player for a certain amount of time.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/733,017, filed Jan. 2, 2013, entitled “System and Method forProviding In-Game Timed Offers”, the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The disclosure relates to providing an in-game offer to a new player ofthe game when the new player joins a world in the game.

BACKGROUND

Various techniques for providing offers to players of an online game areknown. For example, the provision of progressive offers to a player ofan online game is known. Further, the provision of an offer based on astatus of a player playing the game or based on a trigger in the game isalso known. The automatic provision of offers to purchase the onlinegame during a trial period is also known. Conventional systems, however,suffer from various drawbacks and inefficiencies relating to providingprogressive, timed offers to a player based on whether that player is anew player or an existing player that has not yet made any purchases inthe online game.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the disclosure relates to providing an in-game offer toone or more players of an online game. The offer is provided to playersthat have newly joined the game and/or to players that have not yet madea purchase. In some implementations, the offer may be meant toincentivize purchase upon entry into the game. The in-game offer maycomprise an offer to one or more items and a bonus comprising one ormore bonus items provided to the player responsive to the offered itemsbeing purchased. The in-game offer may only be made available to aqualifying player for a certain amount of time.

A system configured to facilitate providing an in-game offer to one ormore players of an online game may include one or more processorsconfigured to execute compute program modules. The program modules maycomprise a space module, a player selection module, an offer selectionmodule, an offer provision module, and/or other modules.

The space module may be configured to execute an instance of a virtualspace. The space module may be configured to implement the instance ofthe virtual space to effectuate presentation of views of the virtualspace to the one or more players by one or more client computingplatforms.

The player selection module may be configured to determine whether aplayer qualifies for an offer (e.g., whether a player is one or both of:a new player or a player that has not engaged in any purchases in theonline game). For example, the player selection module may be configuredto determine whether a player registered for the game within apredetermined period of time. A new player may be, for example, a playerthat joined the game 1 day ago, 3 days ago, 5 days ago, one week ago,and/or within another time period. A new player may also be a playerthat moved to another server associated with the system. For example,the player may move to another server that hosts a different spacemodule. In another example, a new player may be a player that has notyet made a purchase in the game. The player selection module maydetermine, from a profile associated with a player, whether the playeris a new player. The player selection module may also determine fromplayer registrations to join the game whether a player is a new player.In some implementations, an administrator associated with the game mayset the qualifications associated with being considered a new player inthe game and/or the qualifications associated with receiving an offer.

The offer selection module may be configured to select a first offerfrom a plurality of offers as the in-game offer to provide to the playerand select a first bonus from a plurality of bonuses as the first bonusto provide along with the first offer. An offer may comprise anopportunity to purchase one or more items and a bonus may comprise atleast one bonus item that may be provided to the player responsive tothe player purchasing the one or more offered items. In someimplementations, the one or more items included in the offer may beitems available for purchase by any player in the game. For example, theitems may be items in a virtual marketplace or a virtual storeassociated with the game. In some implementations, the one or more itemsincluded in the offer may be a subset of items available for purchase inthe game. For example, a new player may only receive an offer topurchase one or more items at a specific price point, geared towards aspecific goal, related to a specific subject matter, and/or one or moreitems otherwise grouped. In some implementations, a bonus comprising oneor more bonus items may be associated with a respective offer. In someimplementations, a bonus may be associated with one or more specificoffers, with any of the offers available, and/or with another groupingof offers. The one or more items included in the bonus may be itemsavailable in a virtual marketplace or virtual store associated with thegame, items unavailable in the marketplace, a mix of unavailable andavailable items, and/or other items.

In some implementations, the offer selection module may provide a bonusto the player along with the provision of an offer, but may not revealto the player the items in the bonus. In some implementations, the offerselection module may reveal one or more of: the items in the bonus, avalue in the game of each item in the bonus, a value in the game of thebonus as a whole, an availability of each item in the bonus in the game,and/or other information relating to the bonus. In some implementations,the offer selection module may reveal more information relating to thebonus as a time during which the offer and bonus are made available tothe player decreases.

In some implementations, the offer selection module may segment playersbased on one or more player parameters, and may generate a plurality ofoffers and a plurality of bonuses for a respective segment of players.For example, the offer selection module may obtain values of respectiveplayer parameters for the players of the game. The offer selectionmodule may form at least a first segment of players based on a value ofa first parameter. The offer selection module may generate a pluralityof offers and a plurality of bonuses for the first segment. A firstoffer of the plurality of offers may comprise an opportunity to purchasea first set of items, where a second offer may comprise an opportunityto purchase a second set of items different from the first set. A firstbonus may comprise a first set of bonus items provided to the playerresponsive to the player accepting the first offer, and a second bonusmay comprise a second set of bonus items different from the first set ofbonus items.

The offer selection may track the responses of the players of the firstsegment to the individual offers and bonuses provided to the respectiveplayers. In some implementations, a first subset of players of the firstsegment may have been provided the first offer and the first bonus,while a second subset of players of the first segment may have beenprovided the first offer and the second bonus. In these implementations,the offer selection module may track the responses of the one or moreplayers of the first subset to the first offer and the first bonus andthe responses of one or more players of the second subset to the firstoffer and the second bonus. In some of these implementations, the offerselection module may assess a relative effectiveness of the offers andbonuses transmitted to the first segment based on the responses of theplayers of the first segment. The assessment may include determiningwhether the provision of the first offer and the first bonus or theprovision of the first offer and the second bonus is more effective forthe first segment of players. In some implementations, the first subsetmay receive a first offer and a first bonus, while the second subset mayreceive a second offer and a second bonus.

In some implementations, the offer selection module may be configured toselect a second offer and a second bonus to provide to the playerresponsive to the player not accepting the first offer.

The offer provision module may be configured to provide a first offerand a first bonus to a player responsive to the player selection moduledetermining that the player qualifies for an offer (e.g., the player isone or both of: a new player or a player that has not engaged in anypurchases in the online game). The offer provision module may make theoffer available to the player for a specific amount of time. Forexample, the offer provision module may make the offer available to theplayer for a predetermined amount of time, for an amount of time basedon one or more characteristics of the player as obtained from a profileassociated with the player, for an amount of time determined based onresults of split testing of time frames for making available an offerand a bonus, and/or for other periods of time. In some implementations,a combination of an offer and a bonus may be associated with arespective predetermined amount of time.

In some implementations, responsive to the player not accepting thefirst offer, the offer provision module may make available the pluralityof available offers to the player. In some of these implementations, theoffer provision module may make the offers available to the player butmay not make any bonuses available to the player. In someimplementations, responsive to the player not accepting the first offer,the offer provision module may provide a second offer and a second bonusto the player. The offer provision module may make the second offer andthe second bonus available to the player for a predetermined amount oftime, for an amount of time based on one or more characteristics of theplayer as obtained from a profile associated with the player, for anamount of time determined based on results of split testing time framesfor making available a second offer and a second bonus, and/or for otherperiods of time. In some implementations, responsive to the player notaccepting the first offer and not accepting the second offer, the offerprovision module may make available the plurality of available offers tothe player. In some of these implementations, the offer provision modulemay make the offers available to the player but may not make any bonusesavailable to the player.

In some implementations, a computer-implemented method of providing anin-game offer to one or more players of an online game may beimplemented in a computer system comprising one or more physicalprocessors. The computer-implemented method may comprise executing aninstance of a virtual space; implementing the instance of the virtualspace to effectuate presentation of views of the virtual space to theone or more players by the one or more client computing platforms;determining whether a player is one or both of: a new player or a playerthat has not engaged in any purchases in the online game; selecting afirst offer from a plurality of offers as the in-game offer to provideto the player; selecting a first bonus from a plurality of bonuses asthe first bonus to provide along with the first offer; and providing thefirst offer and the first bonus to the player responsive to the playerbeing one or both of: a new player or a player that has not engaged inany purchases in the online game, wherein the first offer comprises anopportunity to purchase a first item and the first bonus comprises atleast one first bonus item provided to the player responsive to thefirst offer being accepted by the player.

In some implementations a non-transitory electronic storage media maystore information related to providing an in-game offer to one or moreplayers of an online game. The stored information may comprise a memoryconfigured to store information related to the one or more players of anonline game, and instructions configured to cause a client computingplatform to: execute an instance of a virtual space; implement theinstance of the virtual space to effectuate presentation of views of thevirtual space to the one or more players by the one or more clientcomputing platforms; determine whether a player is one or both of: a newplayer or a player that has not engaged in any purchases in the onlinegame; select a first offer from a plurality of offers as the offer toprovide to the player; select a first bonus from a plurality of bonusesas the first bonus to provide along with the first offer; and providethe first offer and the first bonus to the player responsive to theplayer being one or both of: a new player or a player that has notengaged in any purchases in the online game, wherein the first offercomprises an opportunity to purchase a first item and the first bonuscomprises at least one first bonus item provided to the playerresponsive to the first offer being accepted by the player.

These and other objects, features, and characteristics of the systemand/or method disclosed herein, as well as the methods of operation andfunctions of the related elements of structure and the combination ofparts and economies of manufacture, will become more apparent uponconsideration of the following description and the appended claims withreference to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of thisspecification, wherein like reference numerals designate correspondingparts in the various figures. It is to be expressly understood, however,that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and descriptiononly and are not intended as a definition of the limits of theinvention. As used in the specification and in the claims, the singularform of “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless the contextclearly dictates otherwise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system configured to provide an in-gameoffer to one or more players of an online game.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary offer selection module of the system ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates a view of a graphical player interface configured toreceive entry and/or selection of a definition of a player segment.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary method of providing an in-game offer toone or more players of an online game.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 10 configured to provide a timed, in-gameoffer to one or more players of an online game. System 10 may beconfigured to provide the virtual space to the players over a network(e.g., network 20). Providing the virtual space may include hosting thevirtual space over network 20. System 10 may be configured to provide atimed, in-game offer to one or more players of an online game. The offeris provided to players that have newly joined the game and/or to playersthat have not yet made a purchase. In some implementations, the offermay be meant to incentivize purchase upon entry into the game. Thein-game offer may comprise an offer to one or more items and a bonuscomprising one or more bonus items provided to the player responsive tothe offered items being purchased. The in-game offer may only be madeavailable to a qualifying player for a certain amount of time.

In some implementations, system 10 may include a server 12. The server12 may be configured to communicate with one or more client computingplatforms 14 according to a client/server architecture. One or moreplayers may access system 10 and/or the virtual space via clientcomputing platforms 14.

Server 12 may be configured to execute one or more computer programmodules. The computer program modules may include one or more of a spacemodule 18, a player module 20, a player selection module 22, an offerselection module 24, an offer provision module 26, a reporting module28, and/or other modules.

Space module 18 may be configured to implement the instance of thevirtual space executed by the computer modules to facilitateparticipation by one or more players in a game within the virtual spaceby determining view information that facilitates presentation of viewsof the virtual space to the one or more players. The view informationmay then be communicated (e.g., via streaming, via object/position data,and/or other information) from server 12 to client computing platforms14 for presentation to players. The view information determined andtransmitted to a given client computing platform 14 may correspond to anentity being controlled by a player via the given client computingplatform 14. The view information determined and transmitted to a givenclient computing platform 14 may correspond to a location in the virtualspace (e.g., the location from which the view is taken, the location theview depicts, and/or other locations), a zoom ratio, a dimensionality ofobjects, a point-of-view, and/or view parameters. One or more of theview parameters may be selectable by the player.

The instance of the virtual space may comprise a simulated space that isaccessible by players via clients (e.g., client computing platforms 14)that present the views of the virtual space to a player. The simulatedspace may have a topography, express ongoing real-time interaction byone or more players, and/or include one or more objects positionedwithin the topography that are capable of locomotion within thetopography. In some instances, the topography may be a 2-dimensionaltopography. In other instances, the topography may be a 3-dimensionaltopography. The topography may include dimensions of the space, and/orsurface features of a surface or objects that are “native” to the space.In some instances, the topography may describe a surface (e.g., a groundsurface) that runs through at least a substantial portion of the space.In some instances, the topography may describe a volume with one or morebodies positioned therein (e.g., a simulation of gravity-deprived spacewith one or more celestial bodies positioned therein). The instanceexecuted by the computer modules may be synchronous, asynchronous,and/or semi-synchronous.

The above description of the manner in which views of the virtual spaceare determined by space module 18 is not intended to be limiting. Spacemodule 18 may be configured to express the virtual space in a morelimited, or more rich, manner. For example, views determined for thevirtual space may be selected from a limited set of graphics depictingan event in a given place within the virtual space. The views mayinclude additional content (e.g., text, audio, pre-stored video content,and/or other content) that describes particulars of the current state ofthe place, beyond the relatively generic graphics. For example, a viewmay include a generic battle graphic with a textual description of theopponents to be confronted. Other expressions of individual placeswithin the virtual space are contemplated.

Within the instance(s) of the virtual space executed by space module 18,players may control entities to interact with the virtual space and/oreach other. The entities may include one or more of characters, objects,simulated physical phenomena (e.g., wind, rain, earthquakes, and/orother phenomena), and/or other elements within the virtual space.Player-controlled characters may include avatars. As used herein, anentity may refer to an object (or group of objects) present in thevirtual space that represents an individual player. The entity may becontrolled by the player with which it is associated. The playercontrolled element(s) may move through and interact with the virtualspace (e.g., non-player characters in the virtual space, other objectsin the virtual space). The player controlled elements controlled byand/or associated with a given player may be created and/or customizedby the given player. The player may have an “inventory” of virtual goodsand/or currency that the player can use (e.g., by manipulation of aplayer character or other player controlled element, and/or other items)within the virtual space.

Control over the entities may be exercised by the players throughcontrol inputs and/or commands input through client computing platforms14. The players may interact with each other through communicationsexchanged within the virtual space. Such communications may include oneor more of textual chat, instant messages, private messages, voicecommunications, and/or other communications. Communications may bereceived and entered by the players via their respective clientcomputing platforms 14. Communications may be routed to and from theappropriate players through server 12 (e.g., through space module 18).

Within the virtual space, one or more players may participate in a game.The game may include a series of tasks that are performable by the oneor more players within the virtual space. The game may include tasks inwhich players (or their entities) are adversaries, and/or tasks in whichplayers (or their entities) are allies. The game may include tasks inwhich players (or their entities) are adversaries of non-playercharacters, and/or tasks in which players (or their entities) are alliesof non-player characters. In the game, entities controlled by the playermay obtain points, virtual currency or other virtual items, experiencepoints, levels, and/or other demarcations indicating experience and/orsuccess. Space module 18 may be configured to perform the functionsassociated with the game in executing the instance of the virtual space.

Player module 20 may be configured to access and/or manage one or moreplayer accounts associated with players of system 10. The playeraccounts may include player information. The one or more player accountsand/or player information may include information stored by server 12,one or more of the client computing platforms 14, storage 30, and/orother storage locations. The player accounts may include, for example,information identifying players (e.g., a playername or handle, a number,an identifier, and/or other identifying information) within the virtualspace, security login information (e.g., a login code or password),virtual space account information, subscription information, virtualcurrency account information (e.g., related to currency held in creditfor a player), relationship information (e.g., information related torelationships between players in the virtual space), virtual space usageinformation, award information (e.g., information related to one or moreawards received by the player for completing one or more respectivetasks; one or more levels of awards associated with the player;potential awards associated with the one or more levels of awardsassociated with the player, etc.) demographic information associatedwith players, interaction history among players in the virtual space,information stated by players, activity information of players, browsinghistory of players, a client computing platform identificationassociated with a player, a phone number associated with a player,player settings, and/or other information related to players. The playerinformation may include and/or indicate an activity level of the player.The activity level may include previous login time(s), previous logouttime(s), login frequency, time spent logged in, and/or other activityinformation. The player information may also include information relatedto purchases in or for the virtual space. Such information may include,for example, activity information for individual transactions, a spendrate, a total spend amount, acceptance of offers and/or bonusesprovided, and/or other information related to player purchases.

As will be discussed further below, players may participate in thevirtual space by controlling entities within the virtual space. Theplayer information in the player accounts may include informationrelated to the entities controlled by the players in the virtual space.Such information may include, for example, an entity type, an entityclass, an entity identification, a level, inventory information, statusinformation, and/or other information related to entities controlled byplayers in the virtual space.

Player selection module 22 may be configured to determine whether aplayer qualifies for an offer (e.g., whether a player is one or both of:a new player or a player that has not engaged in any purchases in theonline game). For example, the player selection module 22 may beconfigured to determine whether a player registered for the game withina predetermined period of time. A new player may be, for example, aplayer that joined the game 1 day ago, 3 days ago, 5 days ago, one weekago, and/or within another time period. A new player may also be aplayer that moved to another server associated with the system. Forexample, the player may move to another server that hosts a differentspace module. In another example, a new player may be a player that hasnot yet made a purchase in the game. The player selection module 22 maydetermine, from a profile associated with a player, whether the playeris a new player and/or whether the player has made a purchase in thegame. The player selection module 22 may also determine from a record ofplayer registrations of players that recently registered to join thegame whether a player is a new player. The player selection module 22may also determine in other ways whether a player qualifies to receivean offer. In some implementations, an administrator associated with thegame may set the qualifications associated with being considered a newplayer in the game and/or the qualifications associated with receivingan offer.

The offer selection module 24 may be configured to select a first offerfrom a plurality of offers as the in-game offer to provide to the playerand select a first bonus from a plurality of bonuses as the first bonusto provide along with the first offer. An offer may comprise anopportunity to purchase one or more items and a bonus may comprise atleast one bonus item that may be provided to the player responsive tothe player purchasing the one or more offered items.

In some implementations, the one or more items included in the offer maybe items available for purchase by any player in the game. For example,the items may be items in a virtual marketplace or a virtual storeassociated with the game. In some implementations, the one or more itemsincluded in the offer may be a subset of items available for purchase inthe game. For example, a new player may only receive an offer topurchase one or more items at a specific price point, geared towards aspecific goal, related to a specific subject matter, and/or one or moreitems otherwise grouped. In some implementations, one or more of the oneor more items may be visibly expressed in the view of the instance ofthe virtual space. One or more of the one or more items may provide anadvantage or a utility in a game in the virtual space. One or more ofthe one or more items may facilitate or improve a skill of a characterin the virtual space. In some implementations, the one or more items maycomprise, for example, a virtual mount, a virtual pet, a virtual tool, avirtual weapon, a virtual item of clothing, a virtual potion, virtualmedicine, virtual sustenance (e.g., food and/or drink), a virtualvehicle, a virtual resource, a virtual troop or group of troops, an itemthat speeds up or bypasses a waiting period in the virtual space, and/orother items.

In some implementations, a bonus comprising one or more bonus items maybe associated with a respective offer. In some implementations, a bonusmay be associated with one or more specific offers, with any of theoffers available, and/or with another grouping of offers. The one ormore bonus items may be items available in a virtual marketplace orvirtual store associated with the game, items unavailable in themarketplace, a mix of unavailable and available items, and/or otheritems. In some implementations, the one or more bonus items may comprisethe one or more items available to include in the offer, experiencepoints, virtual currency, instantiation of a buff, access to an areathat was not previously accessible to the player, and/or other bonusitems. In some implementations, the offer selection module 24 may revealmore information relating to the bonus as a time during which the offerand bonus are made available to the player decreases.

In some implementations, the offer selection module 24 may provide abonus to the player along with the provision of an offer, but may notreveal to the player the items in the bonus. In some implementations,the offer selection module 24 may reveal one or more of: the items inthe bonus, a value in the game of each item in the bonus, a value in thegame of the bonus as a whole, an availability of each item in the bonusin the game, and/or other information relating to the bonus.

In some implementations, the plurality of offers and/or the plurality ofbonuses may be specific to a player, specific to a group of players thatshare one or more characteristics, the same for all players, and/orotherwise customized to one or more players. For example, a first playermay have available a first plurality of offers and a second player mayhave available a second plurality of offers different from the firstplurality. The numbers and types of items in each of the plurality ofoffers available may vary from player to player, may be the same forevery player, may vary based on one or more characteristics associatedwith one or more players, and/or may vary in other ways as well. Thenumbers and types of items in each of the plurality of bonuses availablemay vary from player to player, may be the same for every player, mayvary based on one or more characteristics associated with one or moreplayers, and/or may vary in other ways as well. Storage 30 may storeexemplary offers and bonuses available for one or more players. In someimplementations, the offer selection module 24 may consult a storage(e.g., storage 30) to determine an offer and a bonus to provide to theplayer.

In some implementations, the offer selection module 24 may be configuredto select a second offer and a second bonus to provide to the playerresponsive to the player not accepting the first offer. The offerselection module 24 may select a second offer and a second bonus toprovide to the player in a manner the same or similar to the selectionof the first offer and the first bonus. In some implementations, theoffer selection module 24 may select the first offer to provide as thesecond offer and may select a second bonus different from the firstbonus to provide along with the first offer. In some implementations,the offer selection module 24 may select a second offer different fromthe first offer and select the first bonus as the second bonus toprovide along with the second offer. In some implementations, the secondoffer selected by the offer selection module 24 may be different fromthe first offer, and the second bonus may be different from the firstbonus. In some implementations, the offer selection module 24 mayconsult a storage (e.g., storage 30) to determine the second offer andthe second bonus to provide to the player.

In some implementations, the second offer may comprise fewer items thanthe first offer, may have items of lesser value than the items in thefirst offer, may have a purchase price that is lower than the firstoffer, and/or may have less value in the game than the first offer inother ways. The second bonus may comprise fewer items than the firstbonus, may have items of lesser value than the items in the first bonus,and/or may have less value in the game than the first bonus in otherways. In some implementations, the second offer may comprise more itemsthan the first offer, may have items of greater value than the items inthe first offer, may have a purchase price that is higher than the firstoffer, and/or may have more value in the game than the first offer inother ways. The second bonus may comprise more items than the firstbonus, may have items of greater value than the items in the firstbonus, and/or may have more value in the game than the first bonus inother ways. In some implementations, a value of the first offer and thesecond offer in the game may be the same or similar, but the itemsand/or types of items in the first offer and the second offer maydiffer. A value of the first bonus and the second bonus in the game maybe the same or similar, but the items and/or types of items in the firstbonus and the second bonus may differ.

The offer provision module 26 may be configured to provide a first offerand a first bonus to a player responsive to the player selection moduledetermining that the player qualifies for an offer (e.g., the player isone or both of: a new player or a player that has not engaged in anypurchases in the online game). The offer provision module 26 may makethe offer available to the player for a specific amount of time. Forexample, the offer provision module 26 may make the offer available tothe player for a predetermined amount of time, for an amount of timebased on one or more characteristics of the player as obtained from aprofile associated with the player, and/or for other periods of time. Insome implementations, a combination of an offer and a bonus may beassociated with a respective predetermined amount of time. In someimplementations, an amount of time to provide an offer may be determinedbased on results associated with split testing of a time frame in whichto provide the offer.

In some implementations, responsive to the player not accepting thefirst offer, the offer provision module 26 may make available theplurality of available offers to the player. In some of theseimplementations, the offer provision module 26 may make the offersavailable to the player but may not make any bonuses available to theplayer. In some implementations, responsive to the player not acceptingthe first offer, the offer provision module 26 may provide a secondoffer and a second bonus to the player. The offer provision module 26may make the second offer and the second bonus available to the playerfor a predetermined amount of time, for an amount of time based on oneor more characteristics of the player as obtained from a profileassociated with the player, for an amount of time determined based onresults associated with split testing of a time frame in which toprovide the offer and bonus, and/or for other periods of time. In someimplementations, responsive to the player not accepting the first offerand not accepting the second offer, the offer provision module 26 maymake available the plurality of available offers to the player. In someof these implementations, the offer provision module 26 may make theoffers available to the player but may not make any bonuses available tothe player.

Offer provision module 26 may provide an offer and a bonus to a playervia one or more of in-game notification (e.g., a popup message in game,an icon on the player's screen, a flashing indicator, a marching icon,any combination thereof, and/or other in-game notifications), a textmessage (e.g., via SMS and/or other text message types), an email, achat message, and instant messenger message, a mobile device alert,and/or other communication media. In some implementations, when offerprovision module 26 provides an offer and a bonus to the player, offerprovision module 26 may also provide a timer that counts down the amountof time left for the player to accept the offer and bonus. In someimplementations, when one or more specified amounts of time (e.g., 1hour, 10 minutes, 1 minute, and/or other amounts of time) are left forthe player to accept the offer and bonus provided, offer provisionmodule 26 may provide a reminder to the player. The reminder may beprovided via one or more of in-game notification (e.g., a popup messagein game, an icon on the player's screen, a flashing indicator, amarching icon, any combination thereof, and/or other in-gamenotifications), a text message (e.g., via SMS and/or other text messagetypes), an email, a chat message, and instant messenger message, amobile device alert, and/or other communication media. The media forproviding the offer and bonus may be dictated by the offer and bonus(e.g. as one of the variables), based on a player preference or setting,based on a determination as to whether the player is logged in to thevirtual space and/or the game, and/or other information.

In some implementations, offer provision module 26 may be configured toprovide one or more reminders to the player after the initial provisionof the offer and bonus is made. The timing and number of reminders mayvary based on one or more variables include, for example, administratorsettings, preferences based on the player profile, results of splittesting, and/or based on other variables. A reminder may be provided ina manner the same or similar to the provision of the offer and bonus.

The reporting module 28 may be configured to provide and/or display oneor more reports based on information related to the online game,information stored at storage 30, and/or other information related tosystem 10. For example, the reporting module 28 may be configured tofacilitate analysis and report information related to system usage,player activity, award management, and/or other stored information. Thereporting module 28 may be configured to produce statistics regardingthe stored information and may be configured to prepare and/or displayreports including one or more parts of the stored information. Forexample, the reporting module 28 may be configured to prepare and ordisplay one or more reports including information related to theprovision of offers and bonuses to one or more players, the time framesduring which the offers and bonuses were made available, the number andtypes of items in a first offer made available, the number and types ofitems in a first bonus made available to one or more players, thenumbers and types of items in a second offer made available, the numbersand types of items in a second bonus made available to one or moreplayers, a time at which the provision of the offers and bonuses weremade available, methods by which the provision of the offers and bonuseswere made available, the bonuses associated with one or more offers madeavailable to the one or more players, and/or other types of reports.

In some implementations, the reporting module 28 may be configured todisplay one or more reports to a player via a player interface. In someimplementations, the player interface may be accessed via variouschannels such as, for example, a webpage, a web portal, an agent (suchas a software and/or hardware module) executing on server 12, electronicmail and/or other communication channels that can be used to present thecomparisons to a player. In some implementations, the system 10 maypresent a link to a display of one or more reports prepared by thereporting module 28.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary offer selection module 24 of the systemof FIG. 1. The offer selection module 24 of FIG. 2 is configured toconduct split testing comparing the provision of offers and/or bonusesto one or more players. In some implementations, the offer selectionmodule 24 may segment players based on one or more player parameters,and may generate a plurality of offers and a plurality of bonuses for arespective segment of players. For example, the offer selection module24 may obtain values of respective player parameters for the players ofthe game. The offer selection module 24 may form at least a firstsegment of players based on a value of a first parameter. The offerselection module 24 may generate a plurality of offers and a pluralityof bonuses for the first segment. A first offer of the plurality ofoffers may comprise an opportunity to purchase a first set of items,where a second offer may comprise an opportunity to purchase a secondset of items different from the first set. A first bonus may comprise afirst set of bonus items provided to the player responsive to the playeraccepting the first offer, and a second bonus may comprise a second setof bonus items different from the first set of bonus items.

In some implementations, the offer selection module 24 may conduct splittesting to compare the number and/or types of items to include in afirst offer, a number and/or type of items to include in a second offer,a number and/or type of items to include in a first bonus, a numberand/or type of items to include in a second bonus, a time at which tonotify a player of an offer (e.g., based on real world time spent in thegame, based on an amount of game time spent in the game, based on realworld time since the last login, responsive to the player reaching acertain level in the game, response to a player performing a specificaction in the game, and/or based on other factors), a time frame duringwhich the first offer and first bonus is made available to the player, atime frame during with the second offer and second bonus is madeavailable to the player, and/or other features of providing an in-gameoffer to a player.

The offer selection module 24 may track the responses of the players ofthe first segment to the individual offers and bonuses provided to therespective players. In some implementations, a first subset of playersof the first segment may have been provided the first offer and thefirst bonus, while a second subset of players of the first segment mayhave been provided the first offer and the second bonus. In theseimplementations, the offer selection module 24 may track the responsesof the one or more players of the first subset to the first offer andthe first bonus and the responses of one or more players of the secondsubset to the first offer and the second bonus. In some of theseimplementations, the offer selection module 24 may assess a relativeeffectiveness of the offers and bonuses provided to the first segmentbased on the responses of the players of the first segment. Theassessment may include determining whether the provision of the firstoffer and the first bonus or the provision of the first offer and thesecond bonus is more effective for the first segment of players. In someimplementations, the first subset may receive a first offer and a firstbonus, while the second subset may receive a second offer and a secondbonus.

Offer selection module 24 may be configured to replace offers and/orbonuses determined to be relatively ineffective for the individualsegments. For example, responsive to a determination that the firstoffer and first bonus is more effective for the first segment than thesecond offer and second bonus for the first segment, offer selectionmodule 24 may replace the second offer and second bonus with a thirdoffer and third bonus. This may include replacing the second offer andsecond bonus with a third offer and third bonus in the first set ofoffers and bonuses, and/or providing the third offer and third bonus asan alternative to the first offer and first bonus for the first segment.The third offer and third bonus may have been previously defined, or maybe defined responsive to the determination that the first offer andfirst bonus is more effective for the first segment than the secondoffer and second bonus. In some implementations, offer selection module24 comprises a parameter module 32, a segmentation module 34, an offerand bonus generation module 36, a redemption module 38, a trackingmodule 40, an analysis module 42, and/or other modules.

Parameter module 32 may be configured to obtain values for one or moreplayer parameters. The values may be stored to the player profilesmanaged by player module 18. The player parameters may include one ormore of a demographic parameter, a social parameter, a game parameter,an activity parameter, and/or other parameters.

A demographic parameter may include a parameter related to the realworld demographics of the players. For example, a demographic parametermay include one or more of age, gender, geographic location, language,income, education level, career, marital status, and/or otherdemographic parameters. Parameter module 32 may be configured to obtainvalues of demographic parameters based on registration informationprovided by the player to system 10 (e.g., upon opening an account toparticipate in the virtual space and/or the game), information receivedfrom an online platform from which the virtual space is accessed (e.g.,via a social network website, a microblogging service, and/or otheronline platforms), information derived or deduced from one or more otherplayer parameters (e.g., determined from a usage parameter, from asocial parameter, and/or other parameter), and/or from other informationor sources.

A social parameter may include a parameter related to a social networkand/or the manner and/or individuals with which a player socializes inand/or out of the virtual space. By way of non-limiting example, asocial parameter may include one or more of a parameter derived from asocial graph in a social network service, an in-game relationship, asocial platform from which the virtual space is accessed, and/or othersocial parameters. Parameter module 32 may be configured to obtainvalues of social parameters from relationships established within thevirtual space (e.g., friendships, alliances, and/or otherrelationships), information received from an online platform from whichthe virtual space is accessed, information related to the usage of thevirtual space (e.g., other players with whom a first player participatesin the virtual space and/or the game, other players with whom a firstplayer communicates in the virtual space, and/or other informationrelated to usage), and/or from other information or sources.

A game parameter may include a parameter related to participation and/orusage of the player in the game and/or the virtual space. By way ofnon-limiting example, a game parameter may include one or more of anentity class, an entity faction, a usage amount, one or more usagetimes, a level, inventory in the virtual space, a score, and/or otherparameters. Parameter module 32 may be configured to obtain values ofthe game parameters by monitoring player interaction with the virtualspace. This may include monitoring interactions of players and/or theentities they control in the instance of the virtual space executedspace module 16, and/or monitoring other interactions.

An activity parameter may be related to an activity history of theplayer in the virtual space. By way of non-limiting example, an activityhistory may include one or more of activity level of the player, virtualcurrency account information of the player, relationship information ofthe player, virtual space usage information of the player, interactionhistory of the player, browsing history of the player, purchase historyand/or other activity history. An activity parameter may also includeone or more of an average participation time in a session of the player,an average time in a session after the player experiences an event, anaverage time between sessions of the game, a value metric representingthe value of the player, an amount of time spent in the game by theplayer since joining the game, an amount of time since the last login ofthe player, an average amount of time at a level in the game, an averageamount of time involved in a specific action, a spend velocity, and/orother activity parameters. An event may include, for example, joining analliance, losing status, losing money, getting lost in the virtual game,losing a friendship, gaining a friendship, losing an alliance, receivingan offer for a virtual item, purchasing a virtual item, changing aplayer entity, changing a view of the game, engaging in activity withanother player, entering a new level of the game, engaging in a trainingsession, engaging in an in-game experience separate from the game,and/or other events. A purchase history may include information relatingto, for example, player purchases, player sales, player exchanges,player browsing for potential virtual items for purchase, and/or otherpurchase events. A purchase may include a transaction in which realworld currency is exchanged for one or more virtual items, a transactionin which one or more virtual items (e.g., virtual currency) is exchangedfor another one or more virtual items, and/or other transactions inwhich one or more virtual items are received or given by a player.

Segmentation module 34 may be configured to form segments of the playerson one or more of the parameters for which values are obtained byparameter module 32. For example, a first segment of players may beformed based on values of a first parameter. The first segment mayinclude some portion of the overall players having values of the firstparameter that correspond to each other. This may include values thatare the same, values that are equal, values that fall within a specifiedrange, values that are at least as adjacent as a threshold of someadjacency metric, and/or other values that correspond to each other. Theuse of an exemplary segment formed based on a single parameter is notintended to be limiting. The scope of this disclosure extends toimplementations in which the first segment is formed on the firstparameter, and on one or more other parameters.

In some implementations, segmentation module 34 may be configured toidentify segments of players that have similar tendencies. For example,a segment of players may have similar activity tendencies, similar usagetendencies, similar responses to offers, similar responses to bonuses,and/or other tendencies in common. Segmentation module 34 may identifysegments of players having similar tendencies through analysis of theparameters obtained by parameter module 32, and/or from other sources.

In some implementations, segmentation module 34 may be configured toreceive administrator selection of one or more values for one or moreparameters. Segmentation module 34 may be configured to define agraphical player interface that is provided to an administrator playerto receive entry and/or selection of such values.

By way of illustration, FIG. 3 depicts a view 44 of a graphical playerinterface configured to receive entry and/or selection of a definitionof a segment of players of the virtual space. View 46 may include one ormore of a name field 46, a demographic parameter field 48, a socialparameter field 50, a game parameter field 52, an activity parameterfield 54, and/or other fields. Name field 46 may be configured toreceive entry and/or selection of a name for a player segment beingdefined by the administrator. Demographic parameter field 48 may beconfigured to receive entry and/or selection of one or more demographicparameters that should be used to form the player segment. Throughdemographic parameter field 48, the administrator may enter and/orselect parameter value(s) for the entered and/or selected one or moredemographic parameters. The entered and/or selected parameter value(s)may be implemented to determine whether the individual players should beincluded in the player segment. The entered and/or selected parametervalue(s) may specify a value that players should have to included and/orexcluded from the segment, a range to determine whether players shouldbe included and/or excluded, and/or may specify inclusion or exclusionin other ways. Social parameter field 50 may be configured to receiveentry and/or selection of one or more social parameters that should beused to form the player segment. Through social parameter field 50, theadministrator may enter and/or select parameter value(s) for the enteredand/or selected one or more social parameters. Game parameter field 52may be configured to receive entry and/or selection of one or more gameparameters that should be used to form the player segment. Through gameparameter field 52, the administrator may enter and/or select parametervalue(s) for the entered and/or selected one or more game parameters.Activity parameter field 54 may be configured to receive entry and/orselection of one or more activity parameters that should be used to formthe player segment. Through activity parameter field 54, theadministrator may enter and/or select parameter value(s) for the enteredand/or selected one or more activity parameters.

Returning to FIG. 2, offer selection module 24 may be configured togenerate one or more sets of offers and bonuses for respective one ormore segments of the players. This may include a set of offers andbonuses for the first player segment that includes at least a firstoffer and a first bonus and a second offer and a second bonus. The offerselection module 24 may be configured to generate one or more offers andone or more bonuses for an individual player based on player parameters.The individual player parameters may be player parameters accessed bysegmentation module 34, player parameters associated with the individualplayer, and/or other individual player parameters.

The offers within a set of offers may differ by one or more variables.The variables of an offer may include one or more of the items included,a purchase price of the one or more items included, the types of itemsincluded, the timing by which the items (when purchased) may be madeavailable to the player, the method of the provision, and/or othervariables. The bonuses within a set of bonuses may differ by one or morevariables. The variables of a bonus may include one or more of the itemsincluded, a value of the one or more items included (e.g., a purchaseprice if the player is able to purchase the item), the types of itemsincluded, the timing by which the items may be made available to theplayer, the method of the provision, and/or other variables.

Offer selection module 24 may be configured to vary the variables inbetween offers and bonuses in the sets of offers and bonuses to performsplit testing on the segments of players. The determination of thevalues of the variables in the individual offers and bonuses (e.g., oneor more of the variables to be varied between the offer and bonus madeavailable to the player) may be performed manually (e.g., through agraphical player interface defined by offer selection module 24) by oneor more administrators, may be made automatically, and/or may be made inother ways. Any technique for determining differences between offersand/or bonuses as part of split testing may be implemented withoutdeparting from the scope of this disclosure. Offer selection module 24may also be configured to vary the variables in between offers andbonuses in the sets of offers and bonuses to an individual player basedon player parameters for the individual player, player information forthe individual player, and/or other player data.

Redemption module 38 may be configured to accept offers and bonusesprovided by offer provision module 26 and accepted by the player to whomthe offer and bonus was transmitted. This may include adding the itemsin the offer and bonus in a virtual inventory of the player, deducting aspecific amount of virtual currency from an account of the player,taking consideration for the purchase of the item from the player,and/or other redemptions. In some implementations, redemption module 38may facilitate the sharing or transfer, by the player, of the offer, thebonus, portions of the offer, portions of the bonus, and/or other partsof the offer and bonus. In some implementations, responsive to theplayer accepting an offer and a bonus, the redemption module 38 may alsobe configured to transmit a congratulatory message and/or otherindication of redemption to the player.

Tracking module 40 may be configured to track the responses of playersto the individual offers and bonuses generated by offer selection module24. This may include determining a time spent viewing an offer andbonus, determining whether a player viewed an offer and bonus,determining a time spent viewing a reminder related to an offer andbonus, determining a time spent looking at other items available to theplayer during a time period in which the offer and bonus were madeavailable to the player, determining whether a player accepted an offerand bonus, determining how quickly a player accepted an offer and abonus, determining how many offers and bonuses were provided to theplayer before the player accepted an offer and a bonus, and/or othertracking activities. By way of example, responsive to the provision ofthe first offer and a first bonus to a first subset of players in thefirst segment, and to the provision of the second offer and the secondbonus to a second subset of players in the first segment, trackingmodule 40 may track the responses of the first subset of players to thefirst offer and the first bonus and/or may track the responses of thesecond subset of players to the second offer and the second bonus.

Analysis module 42 may be configured to assess the relativeeffectiveness of offers and bonuses transmitted to the segments ofplayers based on the responses of the players. This may includedetermining, for individual sets of offers and bonuses, a most effectiveoffer and bonus combination in a set of offers and bonuses, a leasteffective offer and bonus in a set of offers and bonuses, a relativeranking of offers and bonuses in a set of offers and bonuses, and/orother determinations related to the relative effectiveness of the offersand bonuses in an individual set of offers and bonuses. Suchdeterminations may be made based on the responses of the players astracked by tracking module 40. The determination that the first offerand the first bonus is more effective than the second offer and secondbonus may be made responsive to some threshold number of provisions ofthe first offer and the first bonus and/or the second offer and secondbonus (alone or combined) being made, a level of difference ineffectiveness between the first offer and the first bonus and the secondoffer and second bonus breaching a threshold, a level of effectivenessof the second offer and second bonus falling below a threshold level,and/or other events.

Analysis module 42 may be configured to determine whether first offerand the first bonus or the second offer and second bonus is moreeffective for the first segment of players based on the responses of theplayers in the first segment to the first offer and the first bonus andthe second offer and second bonus. For example, analysis module 42 maybe configured to assess the relative effectiveness of a given offer andbonus as a function of a number of players that accept the offer andbonus. In another example, analysis module 42 may be configured toassess the relative effectiveness of a given offer and bonus as afunction of a number of players that make another purchase in the gameafter accepting the offer and bonus. Analysis module 42 may also beconfigured to assess the relative effectiveness of a given offer andbonus as a function of retention of players that accept the offer andthe bonus. Retention of players may be quantified, for example, as anaverage retention time of players that accept the offer and bonus, as anumber of players that are retained for a threshold amount of time, anumber of players that spend a threshold amount of money in the game, anaverage revenue per player, and/or other quantifiers. Analysis module 42may also be configured to assess the relative effectiveness of a givenoffer and bonus as a function of an average amount of participation byplayers in the game within a given amount of time after the provision ofthe offer and bonus. In another example, analysis module 42 may also beconfigured to assess the relative effectiveness of a given offer andbonus as a function of an average amount of time from the provision ofthe offer and bonus to redemption by players in the game. Time may betime in the game or real world time.

Server 12 and/or client computing platforms 14 may be operatively linkedvia one or more electronic communication links. For example, suchelectronic communication links may be established, at least in part, viaa network such as the Internet and/or other networks. It will beappreciated that this is not intended to be limiting, and that the scopeof this disclosure includes implementations in which server 12 and/orclient computing platforms 14 may be operatively linked via some othercommunication media.

A given client computing platform 14 may include one or more processorsconfigured to execute computer program modules. The computer programmodules may be configured to enable an expert or player associated withthe given client computing platform 14 to interface with server 12,and/or provide other functionality attributed herein to client computingplatforms 14. By way of non-limiting example, the given client computingplatform 14 may include one or more of a desktop computer, a laptopcomputer, a handheld computer, a tablet computing platform, a NetBook, aSmartphone, a gaming console, and/or other computing platforms.

Server 12 may include electronic storage 30, one or more processors 16,and/or other components. Server 12 may include communication lines, orports to enable the exchange of information with a network and/or othercomputing platforms. Illustration of server 12 in FIG. 1 is not intendedto be limiting. Server 12 may include a plurality of hardware, software,and/or firmware components operating together to provide thefunctionality attributed herein to server 12. For example, server 12 maybe implemented by a cloud of computing platforms operating together asserver 12.

Electronic storage 30 may comprise electronic storage media thatelectronically stores information non-transiently. The electronicstorage media of electronic storage 30 may include one or both of systemstorage that is provided integrally (i.e., substantially non-removable)with server 12 and/or removable storage that is removably connectable toserver 12 via, for example, a port (e.g., a USB port, a firewire port,etc.) or a drive (e.g., a disk drive, etc.). Electronic storage 30 mayinclude one or more of optically readable storage media (e.g., opticaldisks, etc.), magnetically readable storage media (e.g., magnetic tape,magnetic hard drive, floppy drive, etc.), electrical charge-basedstorage media (e.g., EEPROM, RAM, etc.), solid-state storage media(e.g., flash drive, etc.), and/or other electronically readable storagemedia. Electronic storage 30 may include one or more virtual storageresources (e.g., cloud storage, a virtual private network, and/or othervirtual storage resources). Electronic storage 30 may store softwarealgorithms, information determined by processor 16, information receivedfrom server 12, information received from client computing platforms 14,and/or other information that enables server 12 to function as describedherein.

Processor(s) 16 may provide information processing capabilities withinserver 12. As such, processor 16 may include one or more of a digitalprocessor, an analog processor, a digital circuit designed to processinformation, an analog circuit designed to process information, a statemachine, and/or other mechanisms for electronically processinginformation. Although processor 16 is shown in FIG. 1 as a singleentity, this is not intended to be limiting, as processor 16 may includea plurality of processors operating in coordination or cooperation. Thismay include implementations in which server 72 includes amulti-processor device, a farm of server devices operating together,and/or virtual resources provided by the cloud. The processor 16 may beconfigured to execute modules 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, and/or 28. Processor16 may be configured to execute modules 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, and/or28 by software; hardware; firmware; some combination of software,hardware, and/or firmware; and/or other mechanisms for configuringprocessing capabilities on processor 16.

It should be appreciated that although modules 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26,and/or 28 are illustrated in FIG. 1 as being co-located within a singleprocessing unit, in implementations in which processor 16 includesmultiple processing units, one or more of modules 16, 18, 20, 22, 24,26, and/or 28 may be located remotely from the other modules. Thedescription of the functionality provided by the different modules 16,18, 20, 22, 24, 26, and/or 28 described below is for illustrativepurposes, and is not intended to be limiting, as any of modules 16, 18,20, 22, 24, 26, and/or 28 may provide more or less functionality than isdescribed. For example, one or more of modules 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26,and/or 28 may be eliminated, and some or all of its functionality may beprovided by other ones of modules 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, and/or 28. Asanother example, processor 16 may be configured to execute one or moreadditional modules that may perform some or all of the functionalityattributed below to one of modules 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, and/or 28.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method 56 of providing an in-game offer to one ormore players of an online game. The operations of method 56 presentedbelow are intended to be illustrative. In some implementations, method56 may be accomplished with one or more additional operations notdescribed, and/or without one or more of the operations discussed.Additionally, the order in which the operations of method 56 areillustrated in FIG. 4 and described below is not intended to belimiting.

In some implementations, method 56 may be implemented in one or moreprocessing devices (e.g., a digital processor, an analog processor, adigital circuit designed to process information, an analog circuitdesigned to process information, a state machine, and/or othermechanisms for electronically processing information). The one or moreprocessing devices may include one or more devices executing some or allof the operations of method 56 in response to instructions storedelectronically on an electronic storage medium. The one or moreprocessing devices may include one or more devices configured throughhardware, firmware, and/or software to be specifically designed forexecution of one or more of the operations of method 56.

At an operation 58, an instance of a virtual space may be executed. Insome implementations, operation 58 may be performed by a space modulethe same as or similar to space module 18 (shown in FIG. 1 and describedabove).

At an operation 60, the executed instance of the virtual space may beimplemented to determine view information. The view information maydefine views to be presented to players via client computing platforms.In some implementations, operation 60 may be performed by a space modulethe same as or similar to space module 18 (shown in FIG. 1 and describedabove).

At an operation 62, a determination of whether a player qualifies toreceive an offer (e.g., whether the player is a new player, has not yetmade a purchase in the game, and/or qualifies in some other way for theoffer). In some implementations, operation 62 may be performed by aplayer selection module the same as or similar to player selectionmodule 22 (shown in FIG. 1 and described above).

At an operation 64, an offer may be selected to provide to a qualifyingplayer. In some implementations, operation 64 may be performed by anoffer selection module 24 the same as or similar to offer selectionmodule 24 (shown in FIG. 1 and described above).

At an operation 66, a bonus may be selected to provide to a qualifyingplayer along with the offer. In some implementations, operation 66 maybe performed by an offer selection module 24 the same as or similar tooffer selection module 24 (shown in FIG. 1 and described above).

At an operation 68, the offer and the bonus may be provided to theplayer responsive to the player qualifying for the offer (as determinedat operation 64). In some implementations, operation 68 may be performedby an offer provision module 26 the same as or similar to offerprovision module 26 (shown in FIG. 1 and described above).

Although the system(s) and/or method(s) of this disclosure have beendescribed in detail for the purpose of illustration based on what iscurrently considered to be the most practical and preferredimplementations, it is to be understood that such detail is solely forthat purpose and that the disclosure is not limited to the disclosedimplementations, but, on the contrary, is intended to covermodifications and equivalent arrangements that are within the spirit andscope of the appended claims. For example, it is to be understood thatthe present disclosure contemplates that, to the extent possible, one ormore features of any implementation can be combined with one or morefeatures of any other implementation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method of providing anin-game offer to users of a virtual space, the method being implementedin a computer system comprising one or more physical processors, themethod comprising: executing an instance of the virtual space;implementing the instance of the virtual space to effectuatepresentation of views of the virtual space to the users by one or moreclient computing platforms; managing user accounts for the users,wherein individual user accounts include information about individualusers, wherein the information about an individual user includesuser-specific registration information regarding a moment the individualuser registered to join the virtual space, wherein the users include afirst user, a second user, and a third user; differentiating betweenusers that are new to the virtual space, users that are not new to thevirtual space and have not engaged in purchases in the virtual space,and users that are not new to the virtual space and have engaged inpurchases in the virtual space, wherein differentiation whether theindividual user is new to the virtual space is based on a determinationwhether the individual user registered to join the virtual space withina predetermined period ago, wherein the determination whether theindividual user registered to join the virtual space is based on theuser-specific registration information, and wherein differentiation ofthe first user, the second user, and the third user is performed suchthat: the first user is identified as new to the virtual space, thesecond user is identified as not new to the virtual space and having notengaged in purchases in the virtual space, and the third user isidentified as not new to the virtual space and having engaged inpurchases in the virtual space; selecting one or more offers frommultiple offers as the in-game offers to provide to the users; selectingone or more bonuses from multiple bonuses to provide along with theselected one or more offers; and providing the same one or more offersand the same one or more bonuses to individual ones of the usersresponsive to any of the individual ones of the users being either newto the virtual space or not new to the virtual space and having notengaged in any purchases in the virtual space so that individual usersare excluded from receiving the same one or more offers and the same oneor more bonuses responsive to the individual users being not new to thevirtual space and having engaged in any purchases in the virtual space,such that the same one or more offers are provided to the first user andthe second user and are not provided to the third user, the one or moreoffers including a first offer provided to the first user and a secondoffer provided to the second user, wherein the first offer and thesecond offer are the same, and wherein the one or more provided offerscomprise an opportunity to purchase a first item and wherein the one ormore provided bonuses comprise at least one first bonus item provided tothe individual ones of the users responsive to the one or more providedoffers being accepted by the individual ones of the users.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein providing the same one or more offers to theindividual ones of the users comprises: providing the same one or moreoffers to the individual ones of the users during a first time period.3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first time period is apredetermined time period.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the firsttime period is based on one or more characteristics of the individualones of the users.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein, responsive to aparticular user from the individual ones of the users not accepting theprovided offer: selecting an alternative offer from the multiple offers;selecting an alternative bonus from the multiple bonuses; and providingthe alternative offer and the alternative bonus to the particular user,wherein the alternative offer comprises an opportunity to purchase asecond item and wherein the alternative bonus comprises at least onesecond bonus item provided to the particular user responsive to thealternative offer being accepted by the particular user.
 6. The methodof claim 5, wherein providing the alternative offer comprises providingthe alternative offer for a second obtained time period.
 7. The methodof claim 5, wherein responsive to the individual ones of the users notaccepting the provided offer and not accepting the alternative offer,the method further comprises making available the multiple offers to thethird user.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein responsive to theindividual ones of the users not accepting the provided offers, themethod further comprises making available the multiple offers to thethird user.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the one or moreoffers comprises: obtaining values of respective user parameters for theusers, the respective user parameters comprising at least a firstparameter; forming at least a first segment of users from the usersbased on a value of the first parameter; and generating at least themultiple offers and the multiple bonuses for the first segment, themultiple offers including at least the first offer and a third offer,the multiple bonuses including at least the first bonus and a secondbonus, wherein the third offer comprises the opportunity to purchase asecond item that is different from the first item; and wherein thesecond bonus comprises at least one second bonus item provided to theuser responsive to the third offer being accepted.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, further comprising: tracking responses of the users of thefirst segment to an individual offer and bonus provided, the trackingincluding, responsive to the provision of the first offer and the firstbonus to a first subset of users of the first segment and the provisionof the first offer and the second bonus to a second subset of users ofthe first segment, tracking the responses of one or more users of thefirst subset to the first offer and the first bonus and tracking theresponses of one or more users of the second subset to the first offerand the second bonus; and assessing a relative effectiveness of offersand bonuses transmitted to the first segment based on the responses ofthe users of the first segment, the assessing including determiningwhether the provision of the first offer and the first bonus or theprovision of the first offer and the second bonus is more effective forthe first segment of users.
 11. The method of claim 9, furthercomprising: tracking responses of the users of the first segment to theindividual offer and bonus provided, the tracking including, responsiveto the provision of the first offer and the first bonus to a firstsubset of users of the first segment and the provision of the thirdoffer and the second bonus to a second subset of users of the firstsegment, tracking the responses of one or more users of the first subsetto the first offer and the first bonus and tracking the responses of oneor more users of the second subset to the third offer and the secondbonus; and assessing a relative effectiveness of offers and bonusestransmitted to the first segment based on the responses of the users ofthe first segment, the assessing including determining whether theprovision of the first offer and the first bonus or the provision of thethird offer and the second bonus is more effective for the first segmentof users.
 12. A system configured to facilitate providing an in-gameoffer to users of a virtual space, the system comprising: one or moreprocessors configured by machine-readable instructions to: execute aninstance of the virtual space, and to implement the instance of thevirtual space to effectuate presentation of views of the virtual spaceto the users by one or more client computing platforms; manage useraccounts for the users, wherein individual user accounts includeinformation about individual users, wherein the information about anindividual user includes user-specific registration informationregarding a moment the individual user registered to join the virtualspace, wherein the users include a first user, a second user, and athird user; differentiate between users that are new to the virtualspace, users that are not new to the virtual space and have not engagedin purchases in the virtual space, and users that are not new to thevirtual space and have engaged in purchases in the virtual space,wherein differentiation whether the individual user is new to thevirtual space is based on a determination whether the individual userregistered to join the virtual space within a predetermined period ago,wherein the determination whether the individual user registered to jointhe virtual space is based on the user-specific registrationinformation, and wherein differentiation of the first user, the seconduser, and the third user is performed such that: the first user isidentified as new to the virtual space, the second user is identified asnot new to the virtual space and having not engaged in purchases in thevirtual space, and the third user is identified as not new to thevirtual space and having engaged in purchases in the virtual space;select one or more offers from multiple offers as the in-game offers toprovide to the users; select one or more bonuses from multiple bonusesto provide along with the selected one or more offers; and provide thesame one or more offers and the same one or more bonuses to individualones of the users responsive to any of the individual ones of the usersbeing determined to be new to the virtual space or not new to thevirtual space and having not engaged in any purchases in the virtualspace so that individual users are excluded from receiving the same oneor more offers and the same one or more bonuses responsive to theindividual users being not new to the virtual space and having engagedin any purchases in the virtual space, such that the same one or moreoffers are provided to the first user and the second user, the one ormore offers including a first offer provided to the first user and asecond offer provided to the second user, wherein the first offer andthe second offer are the same and no offer that is the same as the firstoffer and the second offer is provided to the third user, and whereinthe one or more provided offers comprises an opportunity to purchase afirst item and wherein the one or more provided bonuses comprise atleast one first bonus item provided to the individual ones of the usersresponsive to the provided offer being accepted by the individual onesof the users.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the one or moreprocessors are configured by machine-readable instructions to providethe same one or more offers to the individual ones of the users for afirst time period.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the first timeperiod is a predetermined time period.
 15. The system of claim 13,wherein the first time period is based on one or more characteristics ofthe individual ones of the users.
 16. The system of claim 12, whereinthe one or more processors are configured by machine-readableinstructions to select, responsive to a particular user from theindividual ones of the users not accepting the offer, an alternativeoffer from the multiple offers and select an alternative bonus from themultiple bonuses; and provide the alternative offer and the alternativebonus to the particular user, wherein the alternative offer comprises anopportunity to purchase a second item and wherein the alternative bonuscomprises at least one alternative bonus item provided to the particularuser responsive to the alternative offer being accepted by theparticular user.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the one or moreprocessors are configured by machine-readable instructions to providethe alternative offer and the alternative bonus for a second timeperiod, the second time period beginning after the first time period.18. The system of claim 17, wherein responsive to the individual ones ofthe users not accepting the provided offer and not accepting thealternative offer, the one or more processors are configured bymachine-readable instructions to make available the multiple offers tothe third user.
 19. The system of claim 12, wherein responsive to theindividual ones of the users not accepting the provided offer, the oneor more processors are configured by machine-readable instructions tomake available the multiple offers to the third user.
 20. The system ofclaim 12, wherein the one or more processors are configured bymachine-readable instructions to: obtain values of respective userparameters for the users, the respective user parameters comprising atleast a first parameter; form at least a first segment of users from theusers based on a value of the first parameter; and generate at least themultiple offers and the multiple bonuses for the first segment, themultiple offers including at least the first offer and a third offer,the multiple bonuses including at least the first bonus and a secondbonus, wherein the third offer comprises the opportunity to purchase asecond item that is different from the first item; and wherein thesecond bonus comprises at least one second bonus item provided to theuser responsive to the third offer being accepted.
 21. The system ofclaim 20, wherein the one or more processors are configured bymachine-readable instructions to: track responses of the users of thefirst segment to an individual offer and bonus provided, the trackingincluding, responsive to the provision of the first offer and the firstbonus to a first subset of users of the first segment and the provisionof the first offer and the second bonus to a second subset of users ofthe first segment, tracking the responses of one or more users of thefirst subset to the first offer and the first bonus and tracking theresponses of one or more users of the second subset to the first offerand the second bonus; and assess a relative effectiveness of offers andbonuses transmitted to the first segment based on the responses of theusers of the first segment, the assessing including determining whetherthe provision of the first offer and the first bonus or the provision ofthe first offer and the second bonus is more effective for the firstsegment of users.
 22. The system of claim 20, wherein the one or moreprocessors are configured by machine-readable instructions to: trackresponses of the users of the first segment to the individual offer andbonus provided, the tracking including, responsive to the provision ofthe first offer and the first bonus to a first subset of users of thefirst segment and the provision of the third offer and the second bonusto a second subset of users of the first segment, tracking the responsesof one or more users of the first subset to the first offer and thefirst bonus and tracking the responses of one or more users of thesecond subset to the third offer and the second bonus; and assess arelative effectiveness of offers and bonuses transmitted to the firstsegment based on the responses of the users of the first segment, theassessing including determining whether the provision of the first offerand the first bonus or the provision of the second offer and the secondbonus is more effective for the first segment of users.